


Koume

by Pokey



Category: The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-11-09 05:39:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11098050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pokey/pseuds/Pokey
Summary: A look into the past."With my flame, I will burn him to the bone!"Keep in mind it is far from finished. With the exception of the prologue, each consecutive chapter will tell a story from a different point in Koume's lifetime, and once I get some feedback, production should move along more smoothly.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is only the beginning! The story will be told through a second-person point of view of Koume's perspective, and hopefully all will go well. This little snippet is so short (one short scene) because I believe it's better for the story if I get some insight from other people before getting too deep into it. Please leave a comment if you do read it, giving ideas for how I can make what I write better.

When the rooster crows that morning, the first idea that came to mind was to just roll over and get some more sleep.  
...  
You hear your bedroom door shut, and you hear the sounds of bare feet against the (likely very cold) stone floor approach the foot of your bed.

"Sister!" The invader shouts from somewhere near your feet (which were nice and toasty still, thank you).

You welcome Kotake with an apathetic grunt, and shift the blanket. This leads to a foreign set of hands shaking your shoulders, in an attempt to rouse you from your slumber. You shift to an upright position, resting your chin on your knees as you yawn, your eyes trailing Kotake as she returns to the foot of the bed.

"Get up, sister! We're going to the Market today!" She says to you. You tilt your head back to look up at her, though she wouldn't be getting your full attention; your eyes had already begun to droop once more, and sleep was preferable to getting an earful.

Kotake couldn't believe the nerve of you. As the elder twin, you needed to show some responsibility. You should have been ready by now; it would seem that letting you sleep in only increased the chances of further attempts to do the same. 

Your eyes snap open; it seems her words have finally registered. 

"Ohh, dear, oohhh, dear," you say in a worried voice as your feet quickly free themselves from the woolen blanket, hit the cool, stone floor with a loud tap, and carry you at an unprecedented speed out the door and down the hall. 

Kotake promptly combed back some of the silken, silvery hairs (a rare occurrence; a "sign of good luck", the midwife had said. Hardly.) that you'd freed as you sped by, and then began to follow you out the door.


	2. To Market, To Market

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Koume goes to a bar and sits with a child. 
> 
> (The plot twist here is that the prologue and the first chapter are actually a few years apart, but they seem like they lead into one another.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always hated when I'd start a story and then leave it. Thankfully, I found the inspiration to write an entire chapter. It's still kind of lackluster in some places, so please write feedback.

You emerge from the hallway, fiery curls frazzled and unkempt, with a sheepish look to you as you grip the side of the doorway, peering into the common room, where your "house"mates were busy with breakfast. You amble over to the empty table in the corner of the room with a hunch to your back, anxiously gripping your right hand with your left and hoping to Din that nobody bugs you and the breakfast that you forgot to grab before you sat down. "Sigh..." You try to surreptitiously grab a bit of cram and speed back over to the table while still maintaining a casual air. You sit back down, and hunch forward a bit before you hunker down.  
\----  
The "stewardess", as you referred to her (she wasn't actually that bad, you knew, but anyone who could make you do work was immediately in your bad books), called everyone over to line up for the 'mission briefing', she called it. Including you and your sister, eight Gerudo were lined up along the center, with "Stu" (oh, ha; you were definitely gonna hold onto that one) pacing before you in a slightly exaggerated way, arms crossed behind her back, as she spoke; to assert authority, you suppose.

"Alright, everyone, today, we are all going out on a mission that is critical to our race's continued prosperity! We will go out to Hyrule market and..." You tuned her out at that point, as you had gotten sidetracked by something else (but it was related to the topic, so you can't be reprimanded for that): pretty nearly every Gerudo was female, thus necessitating going out and looking for "boyfriends". That said, though, why have your Gerudo genes not been diluted at all from what they were initially? Or maybe they have. That /would/ explain your abnormal face...hmm...

Your thoughts were interrupted when some miscreant came up and rapped on your back. You spun around, with your arm back, to clean their clock, which caused Kotake to quickly lean back and hold her hands up, eyebrows raised in a mock fashion. Your expression quickly softened, and your arm lowered slightly, before it hardened again and you punched her in the shoulder. "I /hate/ it when you do that!" You grumbled before she told you it was time to get going.

\----

Upon crossing the fledgling Hyrule Town's paltry border (even if it IS as thick as Meyure from back home, wood isn't gonna do you much good, if it were to, say, be hit by lightning... or burnt down by a crazed Gerudo), your fellows quickly fanned out, leaving you and your sister behind. You looked over at her as she began to speak.

"I know you don't wanna do this....I don't either. But, the thing is, we have... a duty to fulfill, as... proud Gerudo warriors!" She ended the thought with a faux-confident nod as you began to walk.

"Being the dominant doesn't make you a warrior," (at this, Kotake fidgeted slightly with a watery grin on her face; /dork/.) "and the idea of having some foreign object, one that causes hormonal imbalance and constant nausea, no less, housed inside of me for three quarters of a year does /not/ appeal." You replied, with a slight sweep of the hand for emphasis. "Obviously, there's more to it than that, but it's just as inconvenient. We're /barely/ even majors, Kotake, and they already want us to devote our lives to children." You said, eyes forward.

"Well, yes... I suppose so...but I figured that you would be more "into it" than this." She gestured to you as you walked.

"Nyehhh...if I'm not emotionally invested, it just doesn't appeal." After this, you continued for a bit, before Kotake spotted what she told you was an "eligible suitor", before running off and talking to him. Euggh.

\----

After Kotake ran off with that guy, you stood in the square for a bit. Did anyone look at you? (/Ha/. Wouldn't /that/ be nice.) Heck if you knew, but you have definitely decided: you /weren't/ going to deal with a freaking child at 18, because you weren't going to seek out a mate at 18! /You/ were going to go inside that tavern you spotted just now and buy a darn drink!

Inside the stone tavern (because of course that's the first legitimate building that would be erected. Deplorable), wooden tables were spread around on the wooden floor, each with a kerosene lamp on top, and the stool-less bar had a modest selection of drinks (including premium milk, probably. Yeah, you knew about the good stuff, or at least Mom did. It might not be a thing anymore). You noted that the dim lighting and plain interior gave it a kind of homey feel.

You looked around a bit more, spotting the bartender and various customers, including a Goron, some Stalfos (yeah, okay.), and...a small child? What on Earth?

You walked over to the table, and the kid looked up at you. Your eyebrows raised in surprise as he was revealed to have a duck bill and beady eyes.

"Whaddyou want? I'm tryin' to sleep, lady", they said with a quiet, raspy voice. Their words would suggest otherwise, but from the look on their face, you think you can tell that they don't mean any ill will by it, they're just really tired, if their "half-dead" expression is anything to go off of.

"I was just coming over here to ask what a kid like you was doing in here, but it looks like I have my answer already," you said, pulling out that table's other chair to sit across from the child. As the chair was pulled back, though, their face came back up, but the tired expression from earlier was replaced by apprehension, and they gripped the edge of the table. You found yourself speaking in a soft tone. "Relax, child, I'm not gonna do anything." As their grip lessened and expression softened, your voice picked up a little bit, but not so much as to set them off again. "In fact, I kind of fancy a nap myself," you said as you began to recline back in your chair, resting your chair against the wall, looking down your nose at the kid with a lazy expression. Their eyes betrayed their continued apprehension, but they let go of the table.

"So, what um are /you/ doing here? I'm only here because they um wouldn't let me sleep nowhere else." They said, and you smiled a bit, as a sprinkle of childish curiosity rose to their eyes; however, you grimaced as the question actually registered. You do /not/ want to be having that kind of conversation with a child. Um, um...

"I'm just here." Great, way to go idiot.

You tensed slightly as you watched them process your idiotic statement. 

"Oh, okay." They said finally, looking back at you. Phew. It's a good thing little kids don't understand how stupid reasons like that are for going somewhere. They suddenly looked a bit excited. Guess their tiredness wore off. "What, um, is your life like?" They looked at you with metaphorical stars in their eyes. This kid...

"Eh, it's kind of boring," you shrugged. "I live out in the desert with--"

"Wow, a desert?! That's so cool!" They said excitedly, before their face became grumpy-looking. "I used to live in a boring, um, forest, but there were wolves too and it was scary so I ran away." Their expression grew a little nervous at that, and so help you if you didn't feel a little bit of sympathy for the kid. They continued. "After I left, um, I went to lotsa places, but um nobody wanted to be friends, and they didn't like me so they throwed me out." You internally cringed at the improper terminology, but continued to listen. "But, um, I can sleep easy in here becau-because it's dark and quiet and there aren't any wolves in it." /This kid./ "But I wuh-I wanna hear more about your home! Is it hot inside too?" They said, leaning up over the table slightly.

"Naw, it's alright in the mornings. It's always cool inside, too." Ignoring the fact that you just gave two conflicting answers... "My sister Kotake and I live with a bunch of other ladies that also look like us. It's an okay life, I guess. We've got food, water, and literature." Beloved escapism.

"What are literatures?"

"Books."

"Oh."

You smiled fondly at their thoughtful look, and continued. "Um...oh, right. So. Anyway, my sister and I have been using some of the books to practice magic!" You wiggled your fingers and attempted to adopt a mystical tone of voice, and you got a warm feeling as the kid's face lit up.

"Wow! I'm friends with a real witch!" They said, excitedly, eyes wide, before looking a bit shy. "What's your name?"

"Koume."

"That's a pretty name."

"Thank you, sweetie." All three of those words are words you'd thought would never come from your mouth and also be genuine.

"That's not my name! My name is Rohan!" He said, recovering from his fluster.

"Sounds brave," you said in a dismissive tone, leaning back into the chair again.

"Yeah! Oh! One time, I um got some bread from a window. It was just sitting there, and nobody was looking for it, so I got it. It was real hot and tasty, but the guy in the house saw me and chased me away."

"Oh, that's sad." You said, only paying half-attention to them as you realized you should be leaving soon, lest you raise suspicion. "Hey, uh, Rohan, I gotta get going. It was nice meeting you, though." You maintain eye contact throughout as you maneuver out of the chair and shortly thereafter are looking down at him.

"Will I see you again? You gotta tell me about more magic!" They crane their neck to look at you as you begin to leave.

"Oh, yeah, I guess I forgot to tell you about it. I promise I will tell you more about magic once I get any good at it. My sister and I are the only Gerudo that can use it, you know." You add, smugly.

"Okay...bye bye" They call after you as you exit. "Way to pull at m'heartstrings, Rohan", you think to yourself.

\-----

You emerged from the tavern to find that the sky was orange. Guess you were in there for longer than you thought. You wonder where Kotake's gotten off to...

You hear an exclamation of your name, and you turn, expecting to meet Kotake's chilly focus, only to find her flushed and VERY disheveled; it's clear she hastily put herself together after...well.

"Hey, sister," She said, jogging up to you from the other side of the square. She tenses up in her slight giddiness. "Well, um...mission accomplished..." She says, before shuddering with a grin on her face. You waited for the "What were you doing in a tavern? Bla bla responsibility", but it never came. "Come on, the others are probably waiting." She said, the smile on her face less manic, but still very much audible, and motioned for you to follow. 

Glancing back at the tavern, you stopped, waiting to see if the kid would just appear out of the building for no particular reason other than 'why not', before turning back around and pacing after your sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And she says she won't be dealing with children.


End file.
